Kalamunda Men’s Shed is a registered charity and all donations are fully tax deductable. Page 1

Joint foundation sponsors: The Rotary Club of Kalamunda and the Forrestfield Community Bank.

Proudly supported by the Shire of Kalamunda. PO Box 1359 Kalamunda 6926

www.kalamundamensshed.org.au

NOTES FOR YOUR DIARY 30 May at 1400: General Meeting, Guest Speaker Gerald Ashcroft, “Your Life Stories are your Legacy”,

followed by the usual BYO Sundowner and

BBQ.

8 June: Plants for residents’ parking duties

12 June at 1145: Tour of Parliament House

18 June at 1300: Computer Group Meeting 27 June at 1400: General Meeting: Steam

Engines demonstration, followed by the

usual BYO Sundowner and BBQ.

3 July at 1300: Howard’s Bull Session. “How to

protect yourself from unwanted calls and

scams”

FROM CHAIRMAN MORRIS

Gents,

As the month of May rushes

past, we on the COM turn

our attention to all the “end

of year” activities, that is:

portfolio reports

reviews of the past 12 months

annual general meeting

election of officer bearers

It’s also time to look at the Shed and all the

members and to ask ourselves the question

“Is our Shed fulfilling the needs of

members? “

If we judge ourselves from the number of men

who:

regularly turn up at the Shed each

week

go on the excursions that John

Schoen organises

volunteer their time to help build toys

for sale

bring their partners to our mixed

functions (Valentine’s Day, Restaurant

night)

crawl out of bed to assist with the

Rotary parking and Shire plant day

drive the buses during the Zig Zag

walk

volunteer to be on the Committee of

Management

very quietly assist another member to

complete a project

pick up a rake and shovel and spend

the morning cleaning up around the

shed,

take time out to weld up the ticket

boxes,

Plane Torque The Kalamunda Men’s Shed Newsletter

Issue No: 59 ABN 76 391 304 870 Date: June 2014

Kalamunda Men’s Shed is a registered charity and all donations are fully tax deductable. Page 2

build the wooden boxes that the local

hotel asked us to produce,

do all those jobs I don’t see being

done

Then I believe we can give ourselves a

positive YES.

Isn’t marvellous to be involved with a fabulous

group of men who just seem to come together

to enjoy themselves but in doing so, assist

others to also enjoy themselves.

Well done.

Morris

2014/2015

SUBSCRIPTIONS

ARE NOW DUE

Membership

subscriptions are due

on 1 July 2014 and

remain at $60.00.

Payments can be

made as follows :-

Direct per cash or cheque to Treasurer

Graeme or Shed Boss Jim.

Alternatively, payment can be made by

electronic bank transfer (pay anyone facility)

Bendigo Bank

Account name. Kalamunda Men’s Shed Inc.

BSB 633000

Account No. 136575198

Anyone having concerns about paying the

subscription in full, can discuss with Graeme to

make part payments in confidence

OUR NEXT GUEST SPEAKER,

GERALD ASHCROFT

Gerald is a

Lighting/Cameraman/Direct

or & Editor, with an

extensive background in

Video Production, both here & in the UK.

Throughout his career he has incorporated his

talents as a digital cinematographer visualiser,

artist & musician, into all aspects of his work.

Creating programs for Industry & Commerce,

has presented him with many opportunities to

work in a diverse range of environments, from

heavy to light Industry, through to Science &

Technology.

Gerald has a passion for helping clients, to find

the story they need to tell. He uses digital

media solutions to add value and work with

clients from the initial concept of a project,

through to completion and delivery.

He is currently producing a 3D IMAX

documentary drama for the Giant Screen

Industry, for global distribution.

OUR LAST GUEST SPEAKER

KMS member Mal Roberts gave us a

fascinating talk titled:

“ARE YOU TAKING TOO MANY

PILLS?

MEDICATION MANAGEMENT

AND YOU”

Mal emphasised the need to monitor your

medications with regular checkups by your GP

and also being aware of any side effects. He

posed the question are you taking medications

regularly and in the proper manner?

A service, free for most of us, is the Home

Medicines Review (HMR). It can be

recommended by your GP and enables an

accredited Pharmacist to meet with you and

determine:

whether all your medicines are the best

choice for YOU,

if doses appropriate,

if any may be causing problems, now or

may in the future,

Kalamunda Men’s Shed is a registered charity and all donations are fully tax deductable. Page 3

whether some can be stopped or others

need starting.

if pathology tests or other monitoring is

required

OUR LAST

EXCURSION

(Article by John S)

While awesome is a word much used by

younger generations to describe not very

much at all, it truly describes the scale of

operations at "The West Australian"

.A sample-

200,000 copies of "The West" are printed

daily, Monday to Friday and around 300,000

on the weekend, just one part of the 2 million(!)

newspapers printed each week including

the regionals and even a couple of foreign

language newspapers.

Handed an" Interesting Facts" sheet at the

end brought together all of the mass of detail

mentioned during our tour of the premises,

actually two separate buildings, one,

Newspaper House with all of the office staff,

editorial, reporters, photographers, IT,

advertising, HR, Management etc, the other,

the Herdsman Print Centre housing the

printing presses, storage of newsprint, ink -

10,000kgs of black and 8,000kgs of coloured

ink are used each week-

Distribution, with all that this covers and

there's more.

Impressions were overwhelming; size of the

operation probably ranks "The West" in the top

4 or 5 industrial plants in the West. Robots,it

looked like about 18 running around, made in

Finland and costing $210,000 ea. One of the

more agile members of our party was

challenged to go and stand in front of one to

see if it would stop (it does, but, bearing down

on you at maybe 8km/hr, it stops a mere 10-12

cms in front of your face ) .

Our guide Anthony Alborn was amazing,

starting the tour a little early just on 5

and finishing after 10 he never paused once,

enthusiastically leading us through the whole

process and although he was probably not

much younger than most of us, never showed

signs of flagging, nor paused for a sip of water.

Keeping up with him was a tough call for more

than a few of us.

Oh and yes, we met Alston the cartoonist and

also, the Editor who held up printing of the

front page to get a photo of Baby George in,

scooping the rest of Australia, the man who

presses the big red button when he approves

the printing of the paper and there's more still.

In all---------------------------------------------

AWESOME!

Our guide, Anthony Alborn, Group Tour Manager

for The West Australian presenting John Schoen

with the black printing plate used to produce the

front and back page of that day's paper, just one of

the approximately 10,000 plates produced each

week.

HOWARD’S LAST BULL SESSION

Once again an interesting and informative Bull

Session was conducted by Howard. The subject

was “Leaving the family home and downsizing”.

Questions were raised as to when to make the

decision about selling up and the costs involved.

Members related experiences, both good and bad,

of loved ones who had moved into smaller

accommodation. Howard also referenced an

excellent 37 page publication from the Department

of Commerce,

which will be

circulated to

members.

The last Bull Session about downsizing

Kalamunda Men’s Shed is a registered charity and all donations are fully tax deductable. Page 4

Aware of dust (This article contributed by Eddie Van R, extracted from American Woodturner Magazine April 2010 Vol 25 Number 2) There are two aspects to fine dust that determine risk, first the size of the particles and second, the concentration of them in the air. Sawdust is generally in the area of less than 1 micron to 600 microns. A micron is one millionth of a meter in diameter – to put it into perspective, Particles smaller than 40 microns cannot be seen with the naked eye. The diagram below may take a few minutes to get a handle on, with the shaded area, the range of dust particles not visible to the naked eye, yet the most dangerous to our lungs. Our lungs deal fairly well with foreign bodies that are more than 7 microns in size. When a ray of light reveals floating dust in the workshop, we’re only seeing particles that are five to six times larger than the ones that are harmful. For the Wood turner, the two most common problems are- Nuisance dusts – small particles that at high concentrations clog up the airways of the lungs and create discomfort and breathing difficulty. Toxic dusts – particles that are toxic to the body after being inhaled into the lungs – asbestos, silica, be careful with MDF material and the emery wheel. After all is said and done, common sense tells us to take precautions against any dangerous practice, including inhaling wood dust.

Eddie demonstrating an “antique” dust

mask

Dust Masks: a Word of caution One of the great misconceptions of dust control is that inexpensive white fabric or paper nuisance masks offer some protection while turning. It's

worth noting that reputable companies such as 3M place a warning label on their version of these, and it literally reads: "This mask will not protect your lungs." (Less scrupulous manufacturers print the label in small print on the package rather than the mask, or not at all.) Nuisance masks not only allow almost all of the dangerous small particles through, they also impart a false sense of security. People using them for wood dust filtration feel as though they are doing something to protect themselves (which, of course, is completely false), so they don't bother taking any other real steps such as installing an air scrubber, hooking up to a dust collector, or investing in a powered respirator. Beyond the cheap, disposable versions, there are some nuisance masks such as the Dust Bee Gone that, although not NIOSH or OSHA approved, still filter down to 3 microns. The mask accommodates to most faces, even those with beards, has two straps to help close gaps around the edges, won't fog up glasses, and is actually made in America. For more information, visit dustbeegone.com/dustmask.html. After all is said and done, woodturners who take precautions against inhaling wood dust will be able to enjoy their time at the lathe without fearing respiratory health hazards. The consequences of exposure are just too risky to take casually.

INTRODUCTION TO HAND ROUTERS

(Article by Rod Jones)

The purpose of this paper is to introduce and

familiarise participants with a brief history and

use of this versatile tool.

Kalamunda Men’s Shed is a registered charity and all donations are fully tax deductable. Page 5

Modern day routers evolved from 19th century

hand planes, in particular one called the “old

women’s tooth”. There are still hand planes

around called router planes. History tells us

that the modern router started around 1915

with the “Jet Motor Hand Router”; apparently

the inventor modified an end mill (cutter) and

increased the speed from 3000 rpm to around

30,000 by using compressed air.

This was refined in the 1940’s with electric

drive motors replacing compressed air. In the

1960’s the modern router started to evolve.

Modern day use:

The router was traditionally used to machine

wood, however today this tool is used to

machine laminates composites, aluminium,

plastics and a vast range of materials. It can

also be used in a router table, computer

controlled machines, overhead (pin router) or

vertical modes.

The Hand Router

Basically the hand router is marketed in two

formats, fixed or plunge routers. A fixed router

shown in (fig 1) is not adjustable once the

cutting depth has been set. The operator

determines the depth of cut prior to machining,

it is then fixed, the router has to be lowered

into the work and then lifted off when the cut is

finished. This requires some skill and

experience and possibly a greater risk of

spoiling the work. However the fixed router still

enjoys great popularity in the US although

plunge routers are gradually growing more

popular with younger wood workers.

Manufacturers like Bosch and De Walt

produce models that are convertible from fixed

to plunge.

The router shown in figure 1 was purchased by

the author in 1981 and is an Australian

manufactured Black and Decker. It is fixed

base and fixed speed, probably around 20,000

+ rpm. Depth of cut is achieved by loosening

a wing nut and moving the drive part up or

down in relation to the base. There is a

threaded ring around the body to assist this

process.

The plunge router (fig 2) retracts the cutter

above the work, the operator then plunges the

bit into the work. With both routers the

operator pre determines the depth of cut.

Typically unless a cut is very shallow most

cuts require up to three increases in depth

during a cut so as not to overload the router

and spare the bit from overheating and basic

safety. With the fixed router this can be a

tedious task. The plunge router is fitted with a

turret, which is a depth stop and can be quickly

revolved in three stages to the next (deeper)

cut saving time. Each station is typically fitted

with a micro adjuster, giving you an exact

depth of cut. Also when the plunge mechanism

is released the bit immediately retracts from

the work preventing damage and usually

retracting the spinning cutter into the router

base, a far safer option.

Australian made 1981 B & D fixed base. 1

Dremel with after market plunge base. 2

Chucks and collets:

Typically smaller routers are fitted ¼”

(6.35mm) collets whilst larger models are fitted

with ½” (12.75). This is the universal standard

irrespective of where the router is

manufactured, US, UK or Europe. Some top

Kalamunda Men’s Shed is a registered charity and all donations are fully tax deductable. Page 6

end manufacturers such as Leigh are now

trending to 8mm as the ideal. They provide

reduction collets from ½” to 8mm with their

jigs. Most manufacturers of ½”routers supply

¼” reduction collets the exception being Triton

which supplies two chucks in both sizes.

Router cutters:

A separate sheet is available offering

guidelines to size and speed etc. It covers both

table mounted and hand held routers. This

paper however is aimed at hand held units.

Some bits are manufactured of high speed

steel (HSS) sometimes called tool steel. The

more durable, harder bits include tungsten

carbide cutting edges. Smaller diameter bits

are often solid carbide which is typically more

expensive. For light use or home wood

working HSS is fine and usually easier to

sharpen.

There are hundreds, possibly thousands of

different cutters, all shapes and sizes, some

are incredibly complex in design and

manufacture, with a price tag to match.

Cutters usually start at 3mm diameter

increasing to around 50mm, it’s advised that

hand held routers do not exceed 30mm

(Linbide NZ). The rule of thumb is ‘as the

diameter increases, the router speed

decreases’.

Many cutters are fitted with a rotating bearing

guide. Straight cutters are available with a

bearing at the top or bottom. The idea being

the bearing follows a template or guide and

replicates its shape on the work piece. This

operation can also be achieved by using a

‘guide bush’ fitted to the router base these are

available from the original manufacturer or

after market. The difference being, the guide

bush does reproduce the template, but it is

reduced in size due to the greater diameter of

the bush. This has to be allowed for when

designing your work. Most dovetail or finger jig

manufacturers allow for both and supply bits

accordingly.

Guide systems:

It would be safe to say there is no such thing

as a ‘free hand router’. Any woodworker that

has tried to follow a pencil line and ruined an

expensive piece of timber or board with a

router rotating at around 23,000 rpm will

understand.

The most basic guide would be a straight

piece of timber batten clamped to the work

piece. This can be used for edging a large

board, for example too big for the router table.

This setup can also be used for trenching

shelves or sliding dovetails. There are several

types of proprietary aluminium guides on the

market with different clamping mechanisms.

It’s worth the investment if you do a

reasonable amount of this work. There are

circle attachments which are usually included

in the router package together with a fence

and at least one guide bush.

The router fence is designed to guide the

router along a straight edge to provide a round

over or other modification. It is usually

recommended to modify or extend the face of

the fence with a piece of timber. This prevents

a disaster at the start or finish of the cut when

the fence wants to go its own way. Other

guides take the form of dovetail and finger jigs

which are commercially available. Lastly there

is the home made guide usually MDF or ply for

your own special project.

MERCHANDISE

We have a

selection of long

sleeve shirts

available for $28

each. See Elton

or in his absence,

Treasurer Graeme

to purchase one.

These will be

ideal for those

winter days in the

Shed.

IN THE NEXT EDITION of Plane Torque

Watch out for FINANCE and KNOCK DOWN

FITTINGS